ALDI 101 (with free simple meal plan download!)

Drop my son off at his violin lesson. (At that point, the clock was ticking!)

Make a U-turn and head to my favorite store, ALDI.

With shopping list in hand, make a mad dash through the store and emerge on the other side with enough groceries to feed my family of 6 for the week.

Drive back to the violin lesson in time to meet my son at the door.

Total elapsed time: 30 minutes!

I considered it a triumph to get all the grocery shopping done in under 30 minutes (including the short drive and checkout)! It was so good to get that task out of the way in such a quick turnaround.

A huge thanks to ALDI for sponsoring this post! My very enthusiastic opinion is completely my own. Make sure you grab a copy of the FREE printable 7 dinner meal plan for ALDI below.

Why I love shopping at ALDI

Price. Honestly, ALDI has most of the items on my shopping list at a better price than any other local store. Eggs are routinely 99 cents a dozen, butter is $2.99 / lb, and cheese is $3 / lb. Prices do vary from store to store, so it’s always wise to know what a good price is for an item in your own area.

Quality. ALDI has removed artificial colors and ingredients from their own SimplyNature line of products (source). I appreciate being able to buy organic and non-GMO items at ALDI prices!

Selection. The organic section is wonderful – and growing! They’ve got plenty of gluten-free items for my son with food allergies. They’ve got delicious cheeses, a variety of non-dairy milks. I’ve just discovered their line of flavored burgers which make dinner so unbelievably easy.

Time saved. Shopping at a larger store can be a huge time suck! It’s so easy to go in and come out with way more than you have written on your list. With ALDI, the potential for distraction is much smaller – there’s no endless aisle of toys or cards. There’s no pharmacy. The produce section is modest.

ALDI 101 – what to know before you shop at ALDI

If you’ve never shopped at ALDI, you’ll want to be aware of a few things before you go.

Bring a quarter. You have to use a quarter to unlock a shopping cart and etiquette encourages you to bring it back. This isn’t a problem because the parking lots are much smaller than the typical grocery store.

ALDI does a lot to make their operation efficient. You’ll never see an employee standing around – these people are busy! When the cashier lines are short, the employees go back to restocking and tidying up the shelves. When they’re working the register, they are fast.

No weighing of produce. Instead, these items are packaged up for sale (3 pounds of apples, 2 green peppers, etc.) A few things are sold by weight and packaged with the weight and price already marked (like fresh meat and bananas). Some items are sold at a fixed price that other stores usually weigh (like a fixed price for a head of cauliflower or a set price per peach or plum).

This is a picture of the trunk of our truck full of groceries. I always bring a laundry basket with me. I toss lighter groceries into the basket and one of my strong sons carries it into the house for me. It makes loading and unloading so much faster.

You’ll bag your own groceries. At ALDI you have to bag your own groceries – this saves tons of time in the checkout line, especially when you’re behind people like me who buy so. much. food.

Bring your own shopping bags (or buy them in the checkout lane). Or you can bring a laundry basket like I do. I know lots of people are used to getting these for free, but it’s really such a waste of plastic the way other stores bag groceries.

Check the specials. ALDI has specials that rotate in and out frequently. A large section is devoted to seasonal items such as outdoor toys, gardening items and kitchen tools. We bought a juicer at ALDI one year that was the same model as one I found for 3 times the cost.

Comments

Fantastic. I’ve been feeding my family for months from Aldi’s, were heading there after dinner, actually. I love getting tips from others about eating healthy there! Every person in my family has different special dietary needs, so it’s a great way to cheaply get everyone exactly what they need!

My husband has started going with me to Aldi now also. I have a large SUV and he went as far as to build me a slide in table to keep things that get smashed on top in my bags! He couldn’t believe that I can almost feed our family of four for three weeks on $160. Only time I have to run out again is when someone finishes off the milk or we run out of fruits. Love the basket idea however all that money I spent on tote bags are finally coming in handy

Something that you can also note is that most grocery stores build in the price of grocery bags to their products, which is something that ALDI does not do, which is just another way to keep their prices low.

I love my Aldi’s, although I’ve not seen eggs for .99. 😬
I am really happy about the all organic, non gmo appoach they are taking.😃 Hope prices don’t change.🤔 Its a place i can afford to eat healthier. I do wish I’d see, no salt canned goods and more low or no salt, no sugar products. That would really be awesome.🙌🤞🙏

I love aldi , I shop there every week and can make wonderful meals, I’m sorry some people can be so rude. The golden rule if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all. Have a great day. And keep up the good work.

Great information! I must apologize for the lady who was quite rude about the recipes. I’ll take any recipes that work for my family any day, despite where they came from. Some people are just here to start trouble. But the rest of us appreciate your help.Thanks for sharing.

I absolutely love Aldi! I was so happy the day I by an accident found it. It reminds me of home. I’m from Sweden and after IKEA, Aldi is the store where I can get food that taste like home. The dairy products are my favorites. My husband hates shopping but gladly takes me to Aldi to do some grocery shopping. The prices are amazing!!

I understand Aldi is sponsoring you but did you have to take the recipes straight from the Aldi recipe calendar? I feel a little cheated. I was looking for new Aldi meal plan ideas not the same ones Aldi has on their calendar and website…

People are just so rude. I don’t care where you got the recipe’s. I love the ideas you shared with us that can appreciate it people like you give us busy moms some time saving tips and awesome recipes.

I love Aldi! We save time AND money shopping there & we’re eating better too! My tip is that I grab free boxes from the shelves (or from the employees) to pack my groceries in. Some of the boxes are really sturdy and have lids (brown sugar, confectioners sugar, some of the cookies, etc.) I used some of the lidded boxes for organization at home since they are tough & stack so well. 🙂

ALDI is a German brand. We have it here in Germany for about 40 years. It’s getting better and better and I’m doing my weekly shopping tour at ALDI for many years. Saves really a lot of money! The products are mostly produced by great companies, only with another label. In Germany for example biscuits, cheese, milk, coffee… They have great bio-products,too!

I love thier organic line. However, even the gluten free products are often subsituded for corn, which is a grain not meant for goid digestion. Watch labels but i buy a lot of my organics there. I like their brand of quinoa yoy don’t have to rinse it to death luke most brands.

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